Château Cheval Blanc: St-Émilion Star
Château Cheval Blanc sent shockwaves around the world when they extricated themselves from the St-Émilion Classification in 2022. Ned Goodwin MW takes a closer look at their fascinating history.
When we think of St-Émilion, we likely think of many things including the region’s propitious site on Bordeaux’s Right Bank, its constituents of Cabernet Franc and Merlot and the meld of varying types of clay and higher screes of friable limestone on the plateau, whence most of the better wines come. We may also consider the medieval town, a UNESCO heritage site. But for wine lovers there are two properties in particular that stand out like the proverbial: Châteaux Ausone and Cheval Blanc.
‘...Cheval Blanc, arguably the most well known property on this side of the Gironde...’
This piece will focus on Cheval Blanc, arguably the most well known property on this side of the Gironde, together with Petrus. However, to speak of one property, must speak of the other. After all, up until the most recent rejigging of the St-Émilion Classification in 2022 when Cheval Blanc noted ‘a profound change in the philosophy of the classification’ and extricated itself completely from proceedings, it and Ausone had long held the mantle of Grand Cru Classé A, the putative apogee of quality since the establishment of the Classification in 1954. Of course, Ausone (and the more recently anointed Angélus), followed suit, extricating themselves from the Classification as a stake of equanimity. Today, neither Ausone or Cheval Blanc are classified at all, aside from their inherent appellation status. From the 2022 vintage, Cheval Blanc’s label will no longer stipulate Premier Cru Classé A.
‘...the style of the wines more salubrious, owing as much to the overall blend...’
The esteemed cellars of Cheval Blanc.
In a nutshell, Ausone is the smaller property. By far. In fact, it is the smallest of any Bordeaux First Growth. Its wines are more linear, delicate and less generous, reflective of meagre clay limestone soils nudged into a steep slope off the village, a cooler mesoclimate embedded into the side of the famous St-Émilion plateau. Ausone is family owned and its wines are more expensive. Cheval Blanc, on the other hand, is owned by LVMH. Its volumes are larger and the style of the wines more salubrious, owing as much to the overall blend, the nature of its plantings, the richer clay soils smattered with gravel, as well as to the warmer mesoclimate, distant from the plateau itself.
‘...the upward trajectory of quality was inexorable, particularly through the 1920’s, 1940’s and 1950’s...’
Let’s take a closer look.
Château Cheval Blanc, or white horse, traces its recent history to 1832, although it dates back to the 1500s in one form or another. The land on which it stands today was purchased from the larger Château Figeac, the genesis of today’s plantings. Somewhat ironically, Figeac is one of the newly appointed Premier Grand Cru Classé, together with Château Pavie. Back then, Figeac was a massive estate comprising 200 hectares, opting to sell much of its land to investors eager to create their own wine enterprises. This explains why the name Figeac is often affixed to other property names. Château La Grave Figeac, for example. Cheval Blanc’s owner, Mlle Ducasse, was determined to cultivate a completely new identity. After winning a number of awards for early releases, any mention of the name Figeac was annulled completely.
In 1852, Ducasse married Jean Laussac-Fourcaud, equipping the union with some of the finest gravelly soils in the region. Together, in 1860, they built the château that still stands, while aggressively acquiring new plots to extend holdings to 41 hectares. Cheval Blanc remains essentially the same size today. It was around this time, too, in 1860, that Cheval Blanc implemented drainage systems throughout its vineyards, likely the very first application of such innovative viticulture. With this, the upward trajectory of quality was inexorable, particularly through the 1920s, 1940s and 1950s. For many pundits, 1947 Cheval Blanc is considered the greatest wine ever made and certainly, the finest Bordeaux. In fact, a double magnum rested above my desk at Veritas in New York, where I worked as a sommelier. Today, I can only wonder if it was real! As a side note, in an age when most Bordeaux barely nudged 12 percent alcohol, the 1947 reached 14 percent while the 1929, a stunning 14.4.
Château Cheval Blanc, or white horse, traces its recent history to 1832, although it dates back to the 1500s in one form or another. The land on which it stands today was purchased from the larger Château Figeac, the genesis of today’s plantings. Somewhat ironically, Figeac is one of the newly appointed Premier Grand Cru Classé, together with Château Pavie. Back then, Figeac was a massive estate comprising 200 hectares, opting to sell much of its land to investors eager to create their own wine enterprises. This explains why the name Figeac is often affixed to other property names. Château La Grave Figeac, for example. Cheval Blanc’s owner, Mlle Ducasse, was determined to cultivate a completely new identity. After winning a number of awards for early releases, any mention of the name Figeac was annulled completely.
In 1852, Ducasse married Jean Laussac-Fourcaud, equipping the union with some of the finest gravelly soils in the region. Together, in 1860, they built the château that still stands, while aggressively acquiring new plots to extend holdings to 41 hectares. Cheval Blanc remains essentially the same size today. It was around this time, too, in 1860, that Cheval Blanc implemented drainage systems throughout its vineyards, likely the very first application of such innovative viticulture. With this, the upward trajectory of quality was inexorable, particularly through the 1920s, 1940s and 1950s. For many pundits, 1947 Cheval Blanc is considered the greatest wine ever made and certainly, the finest Bordeaux. In fact, a double magnum rested above my desk at Veritas in New York, where I worked as a sommelier. Today, I can only wonder if it was real! As a side note, in an age when most Bordeaux barely nudged 12 percent alcohol, the 1947 reached 14 percent while the 1929, a stunning 14.4.
‘Among Lurton’s first decisions was the declassification of the egregious 1991 vintage...’
The St-Émilion vineyards of Cheval Blanc.
More recently, Cheval Blanc was purchased by Bernard Arnault and Baron Albert Frère in 1988, for what now appears to be a bargain price of 135 million Euros. Pierre Lurton was appointed manager of the estate and today, as CEO, manages other estates in the fold: Château d’Yquem, Château La Tour du Pin and Quinault l’Enclos. Among Lurton’s first decisions was the declassification of the egregious 1991 vintage, committing all harvestable fruit to the second wine, Le Petit Cheval. Such courage enticed LVMH and Arnault’s shares were purchased by the luxury consortium in 2009 for what is estimated at 15 million Euros per hectare, the most expensive sale in the history of Bordeaux on a per hectare basis. Arnault then became chairman of the operation.
After a prodigious track record throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including the lauded 1982 and considerably superior 1990 (at least based on my tastings), most of the 2000s was marked by a dearth of exceptional wine. To put it mildly, it was an era of stolid acceptability, little more. It would appear that LVMH’s capital injection lit a fresh fire at Cheval Blanc because the brilliant 2009 announced a brave new world! This was followed by the stellar 2010 and superlative 2015, all three candidates for wines of their respective vintages. In 2015, as a reaction to the excitement over Cheval Blanc’s return to the qualitative zenith, a scarce six-litre bottle of the legendary 1947 Cheval Blanc, was sold for a record-setting price of USD 304,375 dollars, at Christie’s.
After a prodigious track record throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including the lauded 1982 and considerably superior 1990 (at least based on my tastings), most of the 2000s was marked by a dearth of exceptional wine. To put it mildly, it was an era of stolid acceptability, little more. It would appear that LVMH’s capital injection lit a fresh fire at Cheval Blanc because the brilliant 2009 announced a brave new world! This was followed by the stellar 2010 and superlative 2015, all three candidates for wines of their respective vintages. In 2015, as a reaction to the excitement over Cheval Blanc’s return to the qualitative zenith, a scarce six-litre bottle of the legendary 1947 Cheval Blanc, was sold for a record-setting price of USD 304,375 dollars, at Christie’s.
‘...Cheval Blanc is a richer, exotically perfumed and salubriously textural expression of St-Émilion...’
Stylistically, Cheval Blanc is a richer, exotically perfumed and salubriously textural expression of St-Émilion. To understand why, we must look at its geology as much as disseminate the winemaking approach. Cheval Blanc sits in the north-western portion of the appellation, abutting Pomerol. It is not, as with many top addresses, on the limestone plateau. In fact, its geologies are influenced by the river delta, rather than anything to do with the plateau, attesting to the vastness of St-Émilion as much as to the fact that, as seminal Bordeaux commentator Jane Anson notes, there is no ‘perfect’ terroir in this broad appellation.
In essence, Cheval Blanc shares Pomerol’s clays (40 percent), including the sticky blue clay also found at Petrus, with pronounced seams of calcareous gravel (20 percent) and sand (20 percent) running throughout, with two of the five raised gravel hillsides of St-Émilion, in the mix. The water retaining capacity of clay is advantageous in a warming climate, while imparting a greater degree of ripeness and tannic girth to the wines. Perhaps it is simple to think of Cheval Blanc as a confluence of the best of Pomerol and St-Émilion, yet it is also a rather accurate summation. The plantings, too, follow more closely those of Pomerol, with Merlot on the gravels facilitating even earlier ripening than usual and the Cabernet Franc, on clay.
In total, there are 44 different plots, each permitted for the first wine should the vintage facilitate appropriate quality, with further additions made in 2006 with the purchase of Tour du Pin Figeac Moueix. Select plots of this new purchase were completely reworked and in some instances, replanted. From 2012, a 1.3 hectare plot from Tour de Pin was committed to Cheval Blanc and even more, as of 2022. The ratio of plantings is essentially 52 Franc: 43 Merlot: 5 Cabernet Sauvignon, with the intention to return to the historic ratio of 55 Franc: 40 Merlot: 5 Cabernet Sauvignon. It is interesting to note that despite talk just a few years ago of ripping out all remaining Cabernet Sauvignon, it has been retained and supplemented with additional plantings. There are a number of centurion Cabernet Franc vines, too, the clear star of the show, supplemented by a programme of massale selection that was established in 1996. In other words, when any Franc is replanted, it is hewn from the DNA of historically superior performing vines, selected only from Cheval Blanc’s vineyards. An affirmation of territorial patrimony, if you will.
The property is also heavily invested in agroecology, a sustainable and holistic approach to vineyard management that incorporates year round cover crops, additional trees around the vineyards and the encouragement of biodiversity throughout the property and its various holdings as a means to promote vineyard health, retain humidity amidst the vines and to ameliorate the quality of fruit in lieu of a changing climate. This programme was implemented by external consultant and renowned expert in the field, Cornelis van Leeuwen. Leeuwen worked for a number of years in-house as ‘Chef de Culture’, from 1992-1996. He now splits his time between the estate and Bordeaux University, where research consumes the majority of his time.
In essence, Cheval Blanc shares Pomerol’s clays (40 percent), including the sticky blue clay also found at Petrus, with pronounced seams of calcareous gravel (20 percent) and sand (20 percent) running throughout, with two of the five raised gravel hillsides of St-Émilion, in the mix. The water retaining capacity of clay is advantageous in a warming climate, while imparting a greater degree of ripeness and tannic girth to the wines. Perhaps it is simple to think of Cheval Blanc as a confluence of the best of Pomerol and St-Émilion, yet it is also a rather accurate summation. The plantings, too, follow more closely those of Pomerol, with Merlot on the gravels facilitating even earlier ripening than usual and the Cabernet Franc, on clay.
In total, there are 44 different plots, each permitted for the first wine should the vintage facilitate appropriate quality, with further additions made in 2006 with the purchase of Tour du Pin Figeac Moueix. Select plots of this new purchase were completely reworked and in some instances, replanted. From 2012, a 1.3 hectare plot from Tour de Pin was committed to Cheval Blanc and even more, as of 2022. The ratio of plantings is essentially 52 Franc: 43 Merlot: 5 Cabernet Sauvignon, with the intention to return to the historic ratio of 55 Franc: 40 Merlot: 5 Cabernet Sauvignon. It is interesting to note that despite talk just a few years ago of ripping out all remaining Cabernet Sauvignon, it has been retained and supplemented with additional plantings. There are a number of centurion Cabernet Franc vines, too, the clear star of the show, supplemented by a programme of massale selection that was established in 1996. In other words, when any Franc is replanted, it is hewn from the DNA of historically superior performing vines, selected only from Cheval Blanc’s vineyards. An affirmation of territorial patrimony, if you will.
The property is also heavily invested in agroecology, a sustainable and holistic approach to vineyard management that incorporates year round cover crops, additional trees around the vineyards and the encouragement of biodiversity throughout the property and its various holdings as a means to promote vineyard health, retain humidity amidst the vines and to ameliorate the quality of fruit in lieu of a changing climate. This programme was implemented by external consultant and renowned expert in the field, Cornelis van Leeuwen. Leeuwen worked for a number of years in-house as ‘Chef de Culture’, from 1992-1996. He now splits his time between the estate and Bordeaux University, where research consumes the majority of his time.
Cheval Blanc’s striking new cellar was designed by Christian de Portzamparc.
On average, a mere one hectare of vines is replanted every three years, or thereabouts, with an average vine age of 43 years. The planting density is circa 8,000 vines per hectare, recently raised from 6,000. Cheval Blanc eschews pesticides and herbicides, but reserves flexibility over alternative treatments and thus, unlike other estates in the LVMH fold, is not certified organic. Cheval Blanc’s diversity of geologies, vine ages and expositions mean that it is able to pick in a staggered fashion, augmenting optimally ripe grapes with greener material that it refers to as ‘al dente’. In this fashion, the property achieves a meld of density and freshness, in the pursuit of balance and overall harmony. Indeed, Merlot on gravel demands earlier harvesting due to the heat retention and refraction capacity of the soil, in addition to Merlot’s earlier ripening physiognomy. This means that Cheval Blanc is one of the earliest properties to commence harvesting each vintage.
Cheval Blanc boasts a stunning 5,000sq metre cellar. It dates from 2011, when architect Christian de Portzamparc completed a total overhaul of facilities to the tune of USD 20 million. It is a curvaceous structure, its contours nestled effortlessly into a hillside, capturing an iridescent display of natural light. Vinification takes place in 52 different temperature controlled cement vats of 14 different sizes, ranging from 20-110 hectolitres, each harbouring individual plots. Malolactic takes place in tank, rather than barrel. The wines are then aged in new French oak for nigh on 18 months. As an interesting side note, press wine is never used in the Grand Vin, unlike other leading estates of the Médoc. ‘We just feel that it takes away from the aromatics of out wine’, posits Technical Director, Pierre Olivier-Clouet.
Between 8-10,000 cases of Cheval Blanc are crafted each year, while 4,000 cases of the second wine, Le Petit Cheval are also produced. Le Petit Cheval made its debut in the 1988 vintage. It is a consistently brilliant wine and arguably the finest second tier expression in all of Bordeaux. Interestingly, it was not produced in 2015 when all the fruit, superlative of quality, was committed to the Grand Vin. From 2015, Cheval Blanc also began producing a white wine, a then 100-percent barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc, Le Petit Cheval Bordeaux Blanc. As of 2018, it became a more typical Bordeaux blend of 80 percent Sauvignon and 20 percent Semillon. The vines are situated directly across the road from Cheval Blanc in the former vineyards of La Tour du Pin. As white wine is not officially permitted in St-Émilion, the wine is classified as a generic white Bordeaux. This shan’t affect the price, however, as a mere 1,250 cases are produced.
Stylistically, Cheval Blanc is inherently sumptuous and headily perfumed, with great attention paid to layering the fruit across a myriad of textures, from the underlying acidity, tannic detail and salubrious oak handling. The wine is polished, a little smoky and beautifully massaged on one hand, yet spritely and vital, on the other. It is flamboyant, for sure. But never heavy. It is also extremely long lived, with both the legendary 1947 and 1921 still going strong. More recently, the sturdy 2016, savoury 2017, decadent 2018 and more streamlined close-to-perfection 2019, are all brilliant. The 2021, too, among the wines of the vintage!
Cheval Blanc boasts a stunning 5,000sq metre cellar. It dates from 2011, when architect Christian de Portzamparc completed a total overhaul of facilities to the tune of USD 20 million. It is a curvaceous structure, its contours nestled effortlessly into a hillside, capturing an iridescent display of natural light. Vinification takes place in 52 different temperature controlled cement vats of 14 different sizes, ranging from 20-110 hectolitres, each harbouring individual plots. Malolactic takes place in tank, rather than barrel. The wines are then aged in new French oak for nigh on 18 months. As an interesting side note, press wine is never used in the Grand Vin, unlike other leading estates of the Médoc. ‘We just feel that it takes away from the aromatics of out wine’, posits Technical Director, Pierre Olivier-Clouet.
Between 8-10,000 cases of Cheval Blanc are crafted each year, while 4,000 cases of the second wine, Le Petit Cheval are also produced. Le Petit Cheval made its debut in the 1988 vintage. It is a consistently brilliant wine and arguably the finest second tier expression in all of Bordeaux. Interestingly, it was not produced in 2015 when all the fruit, superlative of quality, was committed to the Grand Vin. From 2015, Cheval Blanc also began producing a white wine, a then 100-percent barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc, Le Petit Cheval Bordeaux Blanc. As of 2018, it became a more typical Bordeaux blend of 80 percent Sauvignon and 20 percent Semillon. The vines are situated directly across the road from Cheval Blanc in the former vineyards of La Tour du Pin. As white wine is not officially permitted in St-Émilion, the wine is classified as a generic white Bordeaux. This shan’t affect the price, however, as a mere 1,250 cases are produced.
Stylistically, Cheval Blanc is inherently sumptuous and headily perfumed, with great attention paid to layering the fruit across a myriad of textures, from the underlying acidity, tannic detail and salubrious oak handling. The wine is polished, a little smoky and beautifully massaged on one hand, yet spritely and vital, on the other. It is flamboyant, for sure. But never heavy. It is also extremely long lived, with both the legendary 1947 and 1921 still going strong. More recently, the sturdy 2016, savoury 2017, decadent 2018 and more streamlined close-to-perfection 2019, are all brilliant. The 2021, too, among the wines of the vintage!